Gibraltar (British Overseas Territory)
|Early Life| For the first part of his establishment, Gibraltar was under Rome's authority. He was one of the lesser known and cared for settlements, as his position was somewhat isolated from the rest of the Roman Empire. Strong and secluded, many other nations challenged Rome to take control on the island (this happened mostly for recreational reasons, like building castles or beach houses. The area was seen more as a resort than a colony). Because of this, Gibraltar had many diverse influences, but the Roman occupation was longest and most prominent. Because of his far out location, it was thought that he was the closest to the end of the earth, and was nicknamed "the Rock" because of his high cliffs and strong border. It was rumored he housed one of the "Pillars of Hercules", and although he was spoken of as legend, he saw little outside actvity. After the destruction of Rome's power, Gibraltar was put under Spain's rule (using a different name at the time) and was often fought over for his strategic placement as a fortress and military base. He went under many different leaderships but eventually was normalized as a Spanish territory later on in his childhood. Years after, British soildiers and other Alliance forces (during the War of the Spanish Succession) resided in Gibraltar and used it as a base for their military campaign. Although the campaign failed, Britain managed to cede control over the area after his withdrawl from the war in 1713. Spain made many attempts to resiege Gibraltar, but repeatedly failed. |Young Adulthood| Because of his brilliant position in the Mediterranean Sea, Britain nurtured Gibraltar into a key base for The British Royal Navy. Because of this upgrade, he underwent a huge age jump (puberty) and developed rather quickly, having his physical appearance change drastically after a decent amount of time. But he remained dependent on the British government, thus deeming him mentally "immature" and in no way ready to move into a separate territory status from Great Britain. During WW2, Gibraltar served only as a military power. His main purpose was to act as a fortress for the Navy and had time for nothing more. This caused him to be on edge and he acted seriously and solemnly for the remainder of the war. But due to errors in the Royal Navy and failed missions as a whole, he became a massive defeatist and similar characteristics stayed with him permanently. During the 1950's, Spain regained control over Gibraltar and restricted movement between the two lands as a way to protect and isolate him from furthur invaders. Gibralter (who was much in favor of British occupation) voted to return under the Queen's guidance. He then made the "Gibraltar Constitution Order" in 1969. Spain was outarged and hurt by this and servered all communications and relations with Gibralter once the Order took place. This, interestingly enough, lasted less than twenty years and Spain once again openly communicated with Gibraltar. Very recently, Britain and Spain agreed on their own behalf to have partial control over Gibraltar, but the territory outwardly refused to be under any amount of Spanish govermental influence. Britain abided by his wishes, and because of this Gibraltar's relationship with Spain is slightly strained to this day. Gibraltar Summary Gibraltar is an British Overseas Territory located in the Mediterranan Sea, neighboring Spain to the north and Morocco to the south. Rocky, dry and semi-secluded, Gibraltar is known for his exclusive population of Barbary macaque monkeys and active history as an important base for the British Royal Navy. Presently, he puts the majority of his energy into promoting tourism. Appearance Gibraltar is of normal height (72 cm) and weight (169 lbs.) but has a very strong outer body as a result of his natural geography. He has tan caucasian skin, mid-length curly blonde hair (which he keeps in a high ponytail) and rich brown eyes. His casual clothing consists of a plain pink T-shirt, a Gibralterian sports jacket, lightly colored khakis and plain brown shoes. His military uniform is that of the warm weather ceremonial uniform, which is worn for specified oveseas stations (B.O.Ts) and assignments. It's comprised of an all-white cotton drill high-collared tunic, black trousers with red lining, and a black cap with dark brown shoes. His World Meeting clothes vary, but include a lightly colored dress shirt with a pastel sweater over it, formal trousers and brown or black shoes. Personality Gibraltar is a serious, sensitive and gentlemanly young nation. Overflowing with a sense of duty, he spends most of his days attempting to aid the Queen and to present himself honorably as a territory of Great Britain. He can come across as haughty, as he almost considers to be more British than Britain himself. Although he is physically tough, he is mentally younger than he looks and is very dependent on others for his sense of purpose. He has no internal motivation, but is eager to please his superiors and friends at whatever costs. He'd rather avoid conflict (unless he intiated the confrontation, which is usually related to his homeland devotion) and gets flustered when being urged to participate in heated conversations, which leads him to rely on Britain to speak for him in most political matters. In modern times he focuses his energy on promoting tourism to get more revenue. He isn't poor, but he strives to thrive and possibly provide for other territories or give back to the mainland. He's a hard worker, but can only be productive for short, spastic periods of time before he burns out and loses his interest. He claims to be heavily British, but is a bit of an oddball compared to other British territories. He lacks any distinguishable characteristics of British blood and has an untraditional, Spanish tinted English dialect, which leads the others to believe he's a "mutt" and only wishes he is what he claims. Gibraltar is unaware of his evident Mediterranean appearance and is ignorant of the other territory's opinions of him. A very sensitive person, he hates to be teased for any reason and will act dramatically when it occurrs. He has a tendency to hold grudges for long periods of time, and keeps a mental list of how many times a person has wronged him. He has a hard time apologizing, and won't bury the hatchet unless the other party approaches him first. He can also be a huge stick in the mud. He's a stickler for rules and regulations, which plays a role in his unpredictiable anxiety. He's a social butterfly and loves parities and festivals. He has a great respect for his Barbary macaque population, as they are the only wild population of monkey in the European continent and a source of income from tourism, but he is actually fearful of them from (unpleasant) past encounters. Relationships |Britian - England| Gibraltar sees him a mentor and big brother figure. The two have very good relations with each other and get along swimmingly, but Gibraltar would like to spend more time with him as Britain is constantly busy. He watches Britain closely and tries to imitate him, but Britain himself is unaware of this. He strives to make Britain proud and he acheives this often enough, but part of him is never satisfied with the attention and praise that he gets. He feels inadequate and useless now that his initial purpose is no longer relevant. This adds to his anxiety about being independent, and clings to Britain tightly, but lacks the ability to draw any strength from him and the cycle of co-dependency continues to circulate. England enjoys the fatuation, but is clueless to how lonely and serverely dependent Gibraltar has become. As far as he is concerned, he has partially regained what he missed out when raising America; and much like back then, he is unaware of the mental strain and over all unhealthy situation of having a younger nation rely on him in nearly every aspect of his life. |Spain| Although the two have a controversial history, their current relationship is neutral. Spain is still set on adopting Gibraltar and he always tries to spend time with him. Gibraltar enjoys eating meals with Spain and co-hosting events, but is standoffish at other times. The two speak both English and Spanish to each other because Gibraltar is stubborn in which langauge to use in many situations. His animosity toward his former care-taker is somewhat unreasonable, but Spain's over-protective advances and his tendency to keep Gibraltar isolated has had negative effects on the pair's relationship. Naturally, both believe the other is in the wrong and that they themselves are correct and justified in their behaviors. Spain's past inability to properly care for Gibraltar and protect him is the leading cause for their complex relationship. |America| Technically his "big brother", Gibraltar doesn't like him very much. His loud and energetic personality added with his love-hate relationship with Britain has Gibraltar being cautious around him. In any case, he still enjoys American media and talks regulary to some of the States. On a more complicated note, he feels inferior to him in every possible way and harbors strong negative feelings. This stems from England's constant interest in him, even though America doesn't give a damn either way. It's logical; he's nothing compared to the mighty U.S.A. This is still developing within him, and will continue to do so. |France| Not much has happend between them since WW2, but Gibraltar harbors neutral feelings because although Britain hates him, he makes good cuisine and his culture is interesting and fun. But he's fallen subject to France's pervertedness once or twice. Gibraltar's feels a bit like a traitor but he assumes his persuing in French relations is very much worth the petty betrayal. |Russia| Not much relation, but he's scared of him and think's he's a super tall freak (their relationship is mostly comical). |China| He thinks his take-out is disgusting, and thought he was a woman at first. But he is envious of drawing skills and wants to ask for lessons (although he's too shy to actually do it). He is impressed with China's rich heritage but is also intimidated by it. |Canada| He hasn't spoken to him directly. Ever. |Italy| Italy believes he and Gibraltar are related (as does Saborga) due to his past with Rome, and tries to act friendly toward him. Gibraltar has a hazy memory and thinks Italy is just a creepy romantic, but loves his desserts and music, so they're friends. |Romano - South Italy| Romano has made it clear that he dislikes Gibraltar. Gibraltar doesn't know the reason, and Romano refuses to tell... |Japan| Gibraltar has a hard time understanding what he's saying most of the time, and he feels very stupid compared to him. Japan likes talking to him because he doesn't say much or interrupts (he interprets this as politness, but in reality it's because Gibraltar is clueless on what's being communicated). |Germany| He thinks he's a terrifying and evil man, and has very sour feelings as a result of WW2. He tries to avoid Germany as much as possible. In a way, he wants to have revenge on Germany for what he's done to him and his friends in the past. He refuses make amends without large compansation. Germany, on the other hand, has forgotten him almost completely. Gibraltar blaims much of his trauma on him, derserved or not. |Sealand| He considers Sealand to be one of his closest friends, as well as a younger brother. Sealand claims he's independent and no way connected to Britain, but Gibraltar still sees him as a fellow B.O.T, and treats him as one. This annoys Sealand on a regular basis, but since their mental age is somewhat close, they get along well and enjoy each other's company. They like playing games together and watch British cartoons. They also like to compare British and Spanish soda pop, and try to cook weird dishes to add to their unique 'cuisine' (this usually ends in disaster when Sealand is in charge). Sealand still sees Gibraltar as a big brother, regardless of his devotion to Britain. |Pennsylvania| An over-protective type of brother, made worse when Gibraltar brings up England in any way because he feels that "his blasted British influence" is damaging to his growth as a nation. Whenever a moment like this occurs, Pennsylvania would simply ignore the mention of England or perhaps everything he had just said and challenge his views at most every given turn, not out of malice but out of concern. Wanting the other to learn that not having to rely on someone else is a good and exhilarating kind of thing he should strive for. This would not help Gibraltar's issue with his American family members, but Penny can't tell what he's doing wrong. Pennsylvania genuinely cares about him, but just alluding to England would throw him for a loop and he'd turn less understanding and willing to listen, and more into a resentful (kind of jealous of Britain's influence) older sibling with no concept of when to quit and just listen to what was being said. This drives wedge between them quite well. Trivia * His appearance is based on both Spain and Britain's designs: Medium skin to represent Hispanic relations, and blond hair to represent British and similar relations. His hair was a medium brown in his early years, but has been lightened due to pale European genes overpowering those otherwise (throughout British occupation is began to occur) His curly hair is a nod to his position in the Mediterranean, and his rich brown eyes represent Arabic, Roman and other influences. * He has two noticiable strands that have meanings. His singular bang is a representaion of "The Rock", located in Gibraltar, and it does not move. The curly strand of hair from his ponytail shows his status as an island in the ocean. A smaller more hidden strand is a reminder of his long Roman occupation; but it's often overlooked. * He doesn't have thick eyebrows because his initial influences were not British, and the trait wasn't passed on later in his life. *He doesn't know his sexuality; nor does anyone else. He's too immature and uninterested to identify as anything, or even think about it. * He has moderate PDSD from his days as a Navy stronghouse. *He likes seafood, but only if it's heavily seasoned. He's too impatient to clean it properly. * He's half-siblings with the U.S. states and B.O.T's, but holds some hostile feelings for his American family members (due to their rebellion from Britian in the past). * He keeps his hair up because when he was younger, his long curly hair made many people mistake him for a girl. * He loves playing Battleship, but get's depressed or psychotic when he loses. * He doesn't understand the meaning of race, and will call his African counterparts his siblings, despite no genetic similarities. Anyone British - blood related or not - are his family. * He has multiple piercings and dresses like a punk band member during his free time. He thinks it's "cool". He's unaware his fashion sense is outdated. * He sneaks across the border to Spain at night on the weekends to go to super fun parties. He tries to keep it a secret from Britain. * He thinks naked bodies are weird and gets embarasssed when he sees someone nude or they see him nude. In a confusing twist, he wears a thong when he swims (This is because although Spain is body-positive, Britain is more conservative. He's caught in the middle of the two extremes). *He fakes American accents and talks to tourists with them for fun. * He wants to own a parrot, but he has a history of his pets dying, so he's paranoid. * His name (Callan Masseti) is based on the notion that most Gibraltarians use British first names (Arthur, Peter, John ect.) but have South American or Hispanic last names. * He can sing, but his voice cracks. As result he mostly performs in the shower. *Although an island, he doesn't enjoy water all that much. This is because his hair dries in a funny way and the salt water doesn't help. * e swears often, but it's usually in a language other than English or he says something obscure. He fits the stereoype "swears like a sailor" very well, but is more discrete about it. * Girls that he isn't related too make him nervous. This is because for the majority of his life, he was around male soldiers and men of power.